Decorator Mary Carol Garrity, the proprietor of the popular Nell Hill's boutique, offers a look at her own home's holiday design, with tips that may work in your house, too. (Editor's note: Since this story was published, Mary Carol has sold her Atchison home and moved to a lake cottage closer to her new Kansas City, Missouri, store.)

The owners of this Michigan home wanted it to harmonize with the nearby community of cottages built from the 1890s to the 1920s. In the living room, low paneled ceilings give a cozy scale to the 28-foot-long room.